Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. performed better than expected in the first quarter of 2006. Despite reporting a 0.2% decline in net earnings from the same period last year, the largest U.S. brewer beat Wall Street estimates by posting earnings of $499.2 million, or 64 cents a share, 8 cents above analysts expectations, according to Reuters.
A year earlier, the company posted net earnings of $500.4 million, or 64 cents a share. Domestic brewers have experienced declining sales from consumer shifts toward other alcoholic beverages including cocktails and wine.
Anheuser-Busch's first-quarter 2006 net sales increased 5.4% to $3.76 billion from $3.56 billion in 2005. The increase was driven by a 5.5% rise in international beer sales and a 13% increase in packaging operations sales.
"Coming off a difficult year in 2005, Anheuser-Busch achieved encouraging first-quarter 2006 results," said President and CEO Patrick Stokes in an April 26 statement. "Through a number of sales initiatives we have restored our domestic beer volume growth momentum, and we successfully implemented a moderate price increase earlier this year. The cost pressures we experienced last year continue, but at a lesser rate, and we have implemented a number of initiatives to reduce costs and enhance productivity."
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